While you have to still be considered strong favorites, there is reason to hope my Niner will at least give you a run for your money. In our 2 exhibitions the Beach has totally dismantled 2 div 2 schools, and for the first time in Coach Reynolds tenure it looks like we have the talent to really compete for something other than the cellar.
For those who might be interested here is a scouting report;
Probable starting lineup;
PG 5’ 10" soph Kevin Houston
SG 6’2" Junior Jabril Hodges
SF 6’5" Senior Cody Pearson
PF 6’6" Junior Shawn Hawkins
C 6’11" Senior Anthony Coleman
Key reserves
PG 6’6" Keon Kindred
SG/SF 6’3" Louis Darby
PF 6’7" Travon Free
C 6’10" Sam Byrd
We look pretty athletic, Jabril Hodges, Shawn Hawkins and Anthony Coleman can shoot from outside, Darby and Hawkins can both slash to the basket. Cody Pearson is a hard nosed rebounder and defender but can score on putbacks, rumor has it he worked hard on his shot over the summer but its too early to tell.
Hodges will burn you from the perimeter if you leave him any daylight but isnt a threat to drive to the hoop. Hawkins can do it all on offence. Kindred can pass and play d but isnt much of a threat to score. Coleman can hurt you inside or out, but he is pretty slender and may have trouble with a big strong center. Darby could be the player of the game or disappear completely , you never know. Byrd is athletic but even thinner that Coleman, heck I think Kevin Houston who is a foot shorter out weighs him. Houston is 5’10 " in heels has a good handle, passes well but had trouble getting his shot to fall last year, he has a rep as a very hard worker and reportedly worked hard on his shot this summer, looked good last night hitting a couple big threes.
Expect us to try to trap and press you for 40 minutes, and to run a motion offense.
This defense gave the div 2 schools that we played our exh. games against fits, but we will see how a top notch team like yours handles it. Dont know how we will fare in the paint against your big men, I suspect were gonna struggle.
We are alot bigger, stronger, and more athletic than we have been in the past couple years and I suspect you will benefit from getting us early and on the road where we have won only once in the last 2 years. But we may be a far cry from the walkover you might expect looking at our preview.
“Expect us to try to trap and press you for 40 minutes”
If we shoot like we did against Pfeiffer (Division II, Ranked 10th preseason) especially when they tried to trap us, I see us putting a mighty hurting on these guys. Not to mention if Mitch can play like he is capable I don’t see Long Beach pressing us for too long.
[i]Originally posted by NinerPride[/i]@Nov 13 2004, 01:31 PM
[b]"Expect us to try to trap and press you for 40 minutes"
If we shoot like we did against Pfeiffer (Division II, Ranked 10th preseason) especially when they tried to trap us, I see us putting a mighty hurting on these guys. Not to mention if Mitch can play like he is capable I don’t see Long Beach pressing us for too long.[/b]
The strength of our team appears to be athleticism, and we have decent size, so our full court press should be tougher than Pfeiffers. But of course your Niners should have an edge in size and athleticism, it would be a huge upset if we could give you a run for your money.
btw what were the scores in your exhibitions? And didnt you do a Canadian tour this year? How did that go?
[i]Originally posted by Sparky[/i]@Nov 13 2004, 04:02 PM
[b] btw what were the scores in your exhibitions? And didnt you do a Canadian tour this year? How did that go? [/b]
3 game swing in Canda:
Niners 110
York 62
Niners 74
Humber 53
Niners 97
Guelph 67
One exhibition game against Pfeiffer in which we won 114 to 75.
[i]Originally posted by Sparky[/i]@Nov 13 2004, 04:02 PM
[b]
btw what were the scores in your exhibitions? And didnt you do a Canadian tour this year? How did that go?
[/b]
We beat Pfeiffer 114-75 in only only exhibition.
The Canadian tour went very well. Our starting PG, Mitchell Baldwin was recovering from a broken wrist, so our 2 frosh PG got some good experience. We beat the 3 Canadian teams by an average of about 20 points or so. I believe we had a different leading scorer in each of the 3 games. Our 3-point bomber, Brendan Plavich shot 66% from behind the arc. Your guys better pick him up as soon as he crosses half court. I’m not kidding. He will launch from anywhere, and if he’s hot there is nothing you can do to stop him. Just ask Syracuse, who he dropped 10 3’s on last year.
